Fantasy Football: One Potential Cut Candidate for Every AFC Team

Cincinnati Bengals - Giovani Bernard

Cap Savings: $3.8 million

Dead Money: $750,000

One of the few bright spots in the 2018 season for the Cincinnati Bengals was the play of second-year running back Joe Mixon. Mixon finished with 1,168 yards rushing and chipped in with 43 receptions for an additional 296 yards. Mixon is beginning to look like a true workhorse back, and that makes Giovani Bernard something of a luxury.

Bernard attempted an average of 4.7 rushes per game in 2018, catching just south of three passes per game. His previous low for rushing attempts for per game was 6.6. He averaged a mere 3.8 yards per carry and was 52nd out of 72 qualified running backs in Rushing NEP per attempt with a clip of -0.06. His yards-per-reception mark of 6.2 was a career low, as well, almost three yards less than his mark from 2017.

Bernard would likely not be on the streets for long, given his pedigree as a pass catcher -- only six backs have more receptions since 2013 than Bernard’s 265 -- but he has shown that he is not cut out to be a bell-cow. His $4.5 million cap hit seems a bit steep for the notoriously frugal Bengals, and with very little in dead money, Gio could be elsewhere in 2019.